Energy finance start-up Brighte has used its latest funding round to assemble one of the nation's most high-profile shareholder registers, drawing support from the Farquhar family, venture firm AirTree and fashion bigwig Naomi Milgrom.

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"It [Brighte] is one of the hottest companies in the Australian tech scene right now," Mr Cannon-Brookes said in an interview, noting he was focused on the company as a long-term investment rather than on any targets around profitability.

"We are looking for traction and growth ... but it has to be profitable in the long term. That is where we look at unit economics versus growth."

"It [Brighte] is part of the unbundling of banking."

Exceptional progress

Mr Cannon-Brookes, who is also passionate about the take-up of renewable energy, said he was the second biggest investor in the latest Brighte funding round.

Ms Jackson said: "Brighte has made exceptional progress in enabling residents easier access to solar, energy and home solutions."

Rich Lister Naomi Milgrom, whose investments include retail businesses Sussan and Sportsgirl, also backed the funding round which will help Brighte fund a push into adjacent and new products.

Venture capital fund AirTree's co-founder and partner Craig Blair will join Brighte's board as part of the firm's investment. AirTree, co-founded by Daniel Petre and Mr Blair, has backed other local fintechs including design platform Canva and soon to be listed financing group Prospa.

Mr Blair said he was attracted by Brighte's business model and strategy, saying the company operated in a "clear wide space" in the market.

"These businesses have a natural defensibility," he added.

Brighte targets big ticket purchases of $15,000 to $25,000.

Vendors and consumers are charged fees including application and ongoing charges over the life of the agreement rather than an interest rate.

That is a pricing strategy that has raised some controversy and traditional lenders would argue that unsecured and unregulated financing typically involves greater risk than a personal loan from a bank.

Ms McConnell said, however, Brighte took a "conservative approach" to lending including frequent stress testing of the portfolio for potential interest rate rises or house price declines. Since it started lending, the platform has facilitated $50 million in loans to 6000 customers and now has a network of more than 450 vendors who sell and install products like solar panels and batteries using its system. No loan losses have been experienced thus far.

The company will have a record month in May and Ms McConnell is confident the growth will continue.

"We don't see any slowing in that growth," she said, citing data that showed 1.8 million Australian homes had solar panels out of 7.6 million suitable homes in the domestic market.

No hurry

The Brighte model is similar to that of US-based Greensky which claims to have a fast, automated, digital credit application process. Greensky listed in the US this month after raising $US874 million.

Investors will be closely watching its performance after online lenders in other parts of the market including LendingClub Corp and On Deck Capital Inc have disappointed.

Mr Blair doesn't, however, expect the likes of Greensky to emerge in Australia.

"There has not been a huge move by overseas fintech platforms to come into Australia," he said.

Mr Cannon-Brookes isn't in a hurry for Brighte to assess an ASX listing but a float may come further down the track.

"People run to the ASX far too soon generally," he said. "It [IPO] is definitely a possibility for the company in the long long term."